1924 JDCA VIN Question

[MMasa]

I recently picked up an original paint 1924 JDCA and I’ve got a question regarding the VIN.
It’s a relatively high serial number (over 14000) but it has a letter B at the end (as in 24JDCA14xxxB)
I cannot find any reference to this in my notes or in any factory literature that I have.
I did find a picture of another high VIN 24 JDCA (in the 18000 range) online that also has the B.
There was also a post on the CAI forum a few years ago from Buzz Kanter also wondering about the B at the end of his 24JDCA,s VIN.
It is DEFINITELY a factory stamped VIN.
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks
Mark Masa

[Speeding Big Twin]

See the last post via the link below. Info was from Herb Wagner.

I also posted on CAI.
Eric


http://www.caimag.com/forum/showthre...ot-Mean-In-VIN

[MMasa]

That is an explanation but it seems a bit counter intuitive.
In 1924, Harley offered the JDCA and FDCA (74” with Aluminum alloy pistons, battery and magneto) AS WELL AS the JDCB and FDCB (74” with Iron alloy pistons, battery and magneto).
Roughly even numbers of both DCA and DCB bikes were made in 24.
If the Aluminum pistons were not working out (I’m not disputing that possibility at all), why on earth would they stamp the case with a JDCA when they knew that they were simply going to keep stamping the SN and then put a B at the end because it was going to have iron pistons.
Why not just stamp it with what it was (a JDCB / FDCB)????
The only scenario I can think of is if a customer had ordered and was expecting a DCA bike, but the factory in essence no longer produced it because of a Alu piston problem.
They could deliver what the customer thought was a DCA bike but was really a DCB bike.
Sort of a “give the customer what they want, as far as they know anyway” scenario.
Seems like a stretch but.....

[Speeding Big Twin]

I posted again on CAI.
Eric

[MMasa]

Eric
I saw that and thanks for your input. I’m sold on the B suffix meaning it’s a DCB motor.
Mark

[ryan]

That is an explanation but it seems a bit counter intuitive.
In 1924, Harley offered the JDCA and FDCA (74” with Aluminum alloy pistons, battery and magneto) AS WELL AS the JDCB and FDCB (74” with Iron alloy pistons, battery and magneto).
Roughly even numbers of both DCA and DCB bikes were made in 24.
If the Aluminum pistons were not working out (I’m not disputing that possibility at all), why on earth would they stamp the case with a JDCA when they knew that they were simply going to keep stamping the SN and then put a B at the end because it was going to have iron pistons.
Why not just stamp it with what it was (a JDCB / FDCB)????
The only scenario I can think of is if a customer had ordered and was expecting a DCA bike, but the factory in essence no longer produced it because of a Alu piston problem.
They could deliver what the customer thought was a DCA bike but was really a DCB bike.
Sort of a “give the customer what they want, as far as they know anyway” scenario.
Seems like a stretch but.....

I know very little on these bikes let alone the manufacturing process. One explanation may be that the serial numbers we already stamped into the case before the change was made, so they added the B at the end of the serial number as a deviation. So the following model year the production sequence would have probably changed so they would not run into that again. This however is just a guess, but I could easily by into that explanation, even though this theory could be wrong.
Harley may have used the serial number as a production code so the numbers would have been stamped into the case very early into the production process. So all through the production process the workers would refere to the numbers so they would know what went into the motor.